In a typical computer, a file system manages data stored on a disk. The data is logically stored in files, which are linked lists of physical data records on the disk. Files, in turn, are logically stored in a hierarchical directory or folder structure. A file allocation table is used by the computer to manage the relationship between these logical constructs and the physical records stored on the disk.
Typically, for a user to access a file, the user must know the name of the file and which folder the file is stored in. File names, however, are often cryptic or otherwise not easily remembered. For that reason, search engines exist to facilitate locating a file containing a specified search string. These search engines typically perform a file-by-file search of the file system. Such a brute force method of locating a file can take a considerable amount of time if the file system is large.
Once a file is found, the correct application must be launched to view the file contents. The viewing application is typically dependent on the file extension being associated with a compatible application at the time of file creation. This association is typically a one-to-one relationship where all files of a particular file extension are associated with one specific application.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a personal desktop information management tool combines with advanced information search and retrieval with object-based file management. A preferred embodiment of the invention also provides universal viewing of any file without the application that created that file. In addition, a preferred embodiment of the invention provides indexed searching. A relational database stores additional information about the files.
In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, a computing system manages a plurality of files from a file system. The computing system includes a database for storing attributes of the managed files and an object-oriented manager coupled to the database. The manager preferably affects changes to a managed file by modifying the stored attributes in the database. The database is preferably a relational database.
The manager preferably includes a plurality of instantiated base objects. The relationships between the base objects are defined by information stored in the database. Preferably, the base objects represent a subsection of a plurality of files.
In the computing system, a manager preferably supports recursive processing. The stored attributes can include an ordered sequence between a plurality of sibling files. The computing system can further comprise an indexer for maintaining an index of all managed files and a general purpose file viewer for displaying content of a file created by an external complication.
The above and other features of the invention, including various novel details of construction and combination of parts will now be more particularly described with the reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims. It will be understood that the particular computing system for information management embodying the invention is shown by way of illustration only and not as a limitation of the invention. The principles and features of this invention may be embodied in varied and numerous embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.